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3 Tips to Finding Your Motivation

What Will Keep You Going Long After the Willpower Has Worn Off

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Is it just me, or has anyone started a new health routine with the intentions of never looking back? Only to be met with the sad disappointment about two weeks later, when your strict willpower slowly wears away with every small slip-up, eventually bringing you back to where you were before you started this health routine? I've done this COUNTLESS amounts of times. Eventually, it gets really frustrating. You wish you could just find the momentum to keep you going.

This is the endless cycle I'd been a part of for a majority of my life. I was stressed, overweight, and depressed. I saw these new health opportunities as a way to change my life around. After a lot of soul searching, these are the ways I was able to break the habit of losing your motivation to achieving goals.

#1: Find your "WHY."

Why are you even going after this dream in the first place? There is a trick to this tip... Many people have temporary reasons for going after something like revenge or jealousy, and those will not carry you through to your ending goal. Thinking back on the past times I failed at accomplishing a goal, my reasons weren't in the right place. Feelings like jealousy are temporary and will fade, and you'll be left without a reason to continue.

Think of the lowest point in your life. Maybe it was the death of a family member or ending a friendship... Whatever it may be, think about it. What made you keep going? What fueled you to get up out of bed the next day? Personally, my "why" was my family. When I hit the lowest time in my life, I held it together for them. And I realized that I wanted to change for the better for them. When you have your goals fueled by something that is a constant, positive motivator in your life, then you will find yourself succeeding.

#2: Find Your Outlet

Holding in your emotions for long periods of time takes a toll on us mentally and physically. However, so many people do it! Why are we holding in these negative emotions that no longer hold any purpose to us? Why are they constantly holding us back from reaching our goals? We are too hard on ourselves. It's perfectly OK to set aside some time each day to channel out these emotions, whatever healthy way you choose. Experiment and seek opportunities in ways you can release these emotions. Many find that meditation, yoga, music, writing (ME LOL), exercise, crafts, reading, etc. are things they do to release the stress of everyday life!

Why is it important to release these negative emotions? Think back on a time when you set aside your dreams because you were so caught up in your emotions. When I was in college, I ended up missing three days in a row because I wasn't handling the stress of my classes in an effective way, and it made me physically and mentally ill. And all you college kids know that missing that many days in a row is detrimental to your grade. Yeah, tell me about it. Knowing what I know now, what if I had managed my stress better? How could that have effected my ending semester grade? Whatever your situation was, we can all be more efficient and steadfast towards our goals.

#3: Be patient!

Let's be real here; patience is a rare virtue to come across these days. Especially in a time where we live on instant information, instant technology, instant entertainment... No one wants to wait anymore! Have you ever been waiting to turn right on a red light, and as soon as you're checking to make sure the traffic is clear to go, some impatient expletive behind you gets all fired up and honks. What do you do afterwards? Well, if you're a jerk like me, you make them wait until the light turns green. (Yep, I'm that driver...) Anyways, what if you would have gone without waiting to make sure traffic was clear, and the turn lane was going just as you were? That could have created some pretty bad consequences. Rushing into things could lead to negative consequences. When you start going towards a bigger goal, take time to reflect and study ways on what will work best for you to get there. Every journey is unique for each person, even if the ending goal is the same. As much as we'd like it, we probably won't lose weight the same time as our best friend. Maybe you'll lose more, or maybe you'll take longer to lose it. Regardless, this shouldn't stop you from going for it. Remember to celebrate the small victories and steps. Before you know it, you'll be achieving goals that are long past your initial goal!